Make a Windsor Chair with Jason Mosseri

Over the duration of this course, you will be taught the basic traditional techniques to make a charming, strong and comfortable Windsor side chair, made of oak and ash.

The emphasis of the week is to experience and master particular chairmaking hand tools, such as the travisher, drawknife and carving adze. You will make all the components of the chair: legs, spindles, etc., from scratch. The crests and stretchers will be steam bent and you will carve a seat from a seasoned board of ash. Then we will drill, assemble and finish the chair. The chair is designed and taught by chair maker, Jason Mosseri of Hopesprings Chairs, and is unique to this course at West Dean College.

As an alternative to using a lathe to fashion parts, you will be exploring the use of hand planes to make attractive, octagonal legs and posts, as in the Welsh tradition. All joints will be wedged tenons or pinned tenons.

There will be plenty of opportunity to discuss the rich heritage of the Windsor chair, a style that originated in Britain and became popular worldwide during the 18th and 19th century. You will be given detailed information on how to apply various finishes to your chair at home.